New rules announced Tuesday for the operation of small, low-level drones will help farmers, ranchers and others involved in area agriculture, a North Dakota State University extension expert says.
“I think it will have a very positive impact,” says John Nowatzki, an NDSU agricultural machine systems specialist who has studied drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned aerial systems (UASs).
The long-awaited rules unveiled by the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority will remove what has been a major barrier for the use of small, low-levels in agriculture.
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The FAA says that, beginning in August, flight will be allowed in agriculture for drones that weigh less than 55 pounds, fly up to 400 feet high and travel up to 100 miles per hour, provided the flights are within sight of an operator and not over people.
Drones will need special lighting to fly at night and must stay at least 5 miles away from airports. Operators must be at least 16 and have a remote pilot certificate.
The use of drones nationwide could create $82 billion in annual economic growth and as many as 100,000 jobs by 2025, according to some estimates.
Drone flights can be useful in checking crops and will be especially appealing, at least initially, to agronomists, Nowatzki says.
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Drones also will have a role in livestock operations, he says.
By themselves, the new rules won’t lead immediately to widespread use of drones in agriculture, Nowatzki and others says.
Work still needs to be done with computer software and cameras that the drones and their operators will utilize. More operator education is important, too, and NDSU extension will provide it, he says.
“But this was an important step,” he says of the new FAA rules.
